Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca put back on amber travel list

The Balearic Islands, which include the tourist hotspots of Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca, will be moved back to England’s amber travel list.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move will take effect from 4am on Monday, which will coincide with changes to the rules on quarantine for people arriving from amber destinations.

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From Monday, people who are fully-vaccinated and the under 18s will not have to isolate after returning from countries on the amber list.

Mr Shapps said that since the Balearics were moved to the green watchlist two weeks ago “we’ve seen the rates double and also the rate of positivity of these tests double, meaning that we’re going to need to move quickly, as we said we might always have to do”.

Latest figures show the infection rate for the Balearics is 205 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 329.9 for the United Kingdom.

Bulgaria and Hong Kong will be added to the green list, meaning quarantine-free travel regardless of people’s vaccine status.

Croatia and Taiwan are being moved to the green watchlist. The rules are the same as the green list, but nations on the green watchlist are at risk of moving from green to amber.

Cuba, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sierra Leone will be added to the red list.

People travelling to amber-listed countries, which includes mainland Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, currently have to isolate for 10 days on their return to England.

But as of July 19 the requirement to quarantine will be scrapped for the fully vaccinated and those aged under 18.

They will still have to take a test three days before returning and have a PCR test on day two back in the UK – but not on day eight.

People arriving in the UK from green list countries do not have to quarantine but do have to take a private PCR test two days after they return.

However, some holiday destinations have their own quarantine rules so travellers may have to self-isolate on arrival even if they do not in the UK.

“I think we all know by now that travelling at the moment is not the same as it was before there was a global pandemic,” the transport secretary said.

“It does mean that when people book, particularly if you’re booking to a green watchlist country, you need to make sure you can get your money back, you need to make sure you can rebook your accommodation whenever required.

“That is really what this demonstrates more than anything else.